


Holding Those Close to You

by OmnipresentNuance



Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: Anxiety, Family Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, Major Illness, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25809934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmnipresentNuance/pseuds/OmnipresentNuance
Summary: Albert has a serious health emergency that leaves him hospitalized, which horrifies his family and Lisa in particular. Her fears of him not being around to see more of her accomplishments surging back up again as everyone waits and hopes for the best, a couple of her sisters hope to give her some much needed comfort and perspective later on that evening and beyond.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Holding Those Close to You

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya, back again! Another bit of a gap between uploads, but nothing wrong with that at all.
> 
> Like some of what I written in the past, this has some backstory to it. First, as you've likely figured out, this is one based on and set after the events of the episode "Geriantics". I've had the general idea for this story for several months and I had originally thought about getting to work on it in May. However, as pretty much anyone reading this knows, that was the month that Fred Willard had passed away, who of course was the voice of Albert on The Loud House. Given the subject matter that is being dealt with in this one, I actually thought writing and eventually publishing something like this around that time would've been considered potentially disrespectful, so I opted to wait for a good while until I felt more comfortable putting it out there. In any event, you can also consider this a much belated tribute to the memory of Fred Willard as well.
> 
> And so here we are now. Let's read on with this, shall we?
> 
> The Loud House is the exclusive property of Nickelodeon and Viacom. The usage of the setting, characters and such is based on nothing more than a pure affinity for everything and is not being used for monetary purposes.

It was a largely quiet and peaceful evening at the Loud house. Most everyone was still awake, but for the two youngest members of the family, bedtime had arrived.

While the absolute youngest of the bunch, Lily, was asleep, her older sister and roommate Lisa laid in her bed as she listened to the bedtime story that was being read by her grandfather, Albert, better know by all his grandchildren simply as "Pop-Pop".

However, being the certified child genius she is, Lisa's idea of a bedtime story was not of fairy tales or nursery rhymes, but instead that of one of her science books being read out loud. This was far from the first time that Albert has done something like this for his second youngest grandchild and it was actually following a previous instance of this days earlier which initiated a series of events that put newfound worry in her.

When Albert casually mentioned to Lisa that he wouldn't be around to see everything that she'll further accomplish in her life, it sent her into a spate of worry. She may be a genius, but she was still just a four year old and had the understandable concern over the idea of anyone in her family passing on and no longer being in her life. Spurred by this worry, Lisa went into scientific overdrive to use any means to extend the life of her Pop-Pop. After a failed attempt at implementing a healthier lifestyle that he flouted at every turn, she then next developed a suit that he can wear which can increase his vitality without changing his way of life. However, several things ranging from the long times it needed to be charged and the many substances and sources it needed to avoid made it an even bigger hassle than the prior lifestyle changes. Eventually, Albert had to sit Lisa down and explain that though it was admirable of her to try in extending his life, she needed to accept that his time will have to come, but until then, he still had a few good years left in him and it's best to enjoy them in that time. Also, enjoying heaping helpings of Lisa hugs probably never hurts, either.

"And, uh...all the elements and scientific methods lived happily ever after. The end." Albert quickly ad-libbed upon reaching the end of the book he read.

Lisa couldn't help but chuckle, "Couldn't help yourself, did you? Regardless, another exemplary readout of the wonderful and admittedly at times whimsical world of science, Pop-Pop."

"It was my pleasure. Now, how about that Lisa hug?"

Putting the book aside for a second, Albert reached out just as also Lisa briefly sat up so they can share one of those patented hugs.

"Okay, good night, Lisa." Albert told her.

"And a pleasant eventide to you as well, Pop-Pop." Lisa replied in her own unique way.

Albert chuckled before sitting up from Lisa's bed, switching off the light on the nightstand and put the book away all while the second youngest Loud child sent herself into her nightly REM cycle.

Right as Albert was about to leave the room, someone else did call out to him softly.

"Pahp-Pahp…"

He saw a drowsy Lily rising up from her crib, trying to stand and reaching out to him.

"Aw...now, now, Lily, you need to go back to sleep yourself." Albert quietly said.

Going over to her crib, he softly patted his infant granddaughter's head, gently laid her back down and put her precious lilac blanket back over.

"Good night, Lily."

Having put in a decent night's work for both his youngest granddaughters in getting them to sleep, Albert smiled at the adorable sight of them getting to their slumber. He could only hope he'd be able to see many more times like these with them and the rest of his grandchildren in whatever other endeavors, successes and fun times he can in the years he still had in him.

* * *

Over at the dentistry office, Rita Loud had wrapped up some routine work on a couple of patients and was keeping to herself until she was needed again.

A couple of minutes later, the door opened up to reveal her colleague Dr. Feinstein coming on inside.

"Oh, Dr. Feinstein." Rita greeted him.

"Um, Rita…" He began saying solemnly, "The front desk phone is for you."

"What? What do you mean? Who would be calling me from there?"

"I...well...it's probably best if you answered for yourself."

Between the tone he spoke in and the plaintive expression on his face, Rita grew increasingly worried. Without giving it another thought, she rushed right past him and up to the front desk where upon arriving, the receptionist handed her the phone.

"Hello?" Rita said.

Over the next minute, her eyes grew wide, her heart sank and she fell down to her knees. As she heard more, tears formed on the corners of her eyes and she let out a wailing shout of despair.

* * *

In the Loud house, it was far from living up to that name. Peace and quiet were what dominated from inside the walls as the only people currently present were Lynn Sr. in the living room and Lily, the latter of which had been put away in her crib for a nap. Everyone else was off doing whatever they had set off to do and the Loud family patriarch reveled in the lack of noise, however temporary it will be.

But just as he settled in for some relaxation time, Lynn Sr. noticed Vanzilla pulling up on the driveway through the living room window.

"Huh...what's she doing home this soon?"

His curiosity would soon turn to worry when he saw Rita quickly get out from the driver's seat and briskly walked up until she opened the front door in a similarly rapid manner.

"Hey, honey, didn't think I see you back home this early." Lynn Sr. said with a touch of pleasantness.

But that pleasure reverted back to worry when he can tell from where he sat that she appeared to have been crying.

"Rita?"

She immediately fell to her knees and sounded off with loud uncontrollable sobbing. Without giving it another thought, Lynn Sr. rushed over to his wife's side.

"Honey, what's wrong? What's happened?"

Unfortunately, either due to her not hearing her husband or being so overcome with pure sadness that she couldn't explain anything, Rita only continued hysterically sobbing.

Holding on to her for a moment, Lynn Sr. carefully then helped his wife up to her feet and guided her over to the couch. Again, she still couldn't say anything, so for the next several minutes she let everything out while in her husband's arms.

"Wh-where...are t-t-the...kids?" Rita choked out after some time passed on.

"Well, Lily's upstairs taking a nap, but otherwise the rest of them are out and about. Why do you ask?" Lynn Sr. wondered.

"Bring them back home." Rita said.

"But Rita, can't you first tell me what-" Lynn Sr. attempted saying.

" _Lynn,_ _bring them back home, please!_ " Rita desperately implored to him.

The strained urgency in her voice hitting him hard, Lynn Sr. frantically got out his phone and began typing out a singular text that he will sent to all of his kids. It was in a high-pressure and emotionally charged situation like this that he was thankful Lori taught him how to text in the first place, and it didn't take him long at all to send out the following:

_Come back home IMMEDIATELY. Your mother needs you here._

With that text sent, he returned in consoling Rita. He thought about asking her again about whatever it is that has sent her into such heartrending hysterics, but her insistence that the kids come home first likely meant she'll be holding off until then.

Gradually one by one and through some pairs as well, the kids arrived home and were on pins and needles over what their mother needed them here for that was so urgent.

"Okay, we're all back home, Mom. Can you please now tell us what's wrong?" Lincoln asked.

"Yeah, we all really hate to see you so sad!" Leni added, coming close to being in tears herself.

After taking one long deep breath to prepare herself, Rita was about to reveal the horrible new she's heard.

"Kids...Pop-Pop's in the hospital...he had trouble breathing and he collapsed..."

The reactions among the kids were understated yet crushing. No gasps, no shouts or anyone breaking down into sobbing messes like their mother had been through these past several minutes. Instead, they remained silent and only let their morose expressions say it all for them.

But such near stoic reactions weren't going to cut it for long in the case on the one sibling who otherwise tries to hand wave human emotions, or at least put up the impression of it.

Falling down to her knees, Lisa held nothing back by sobbing as a hard and hysterically as she's ever had. One of the worst case scenarios involving her grandfather, especially after all they've been through recently, seemed to be coming true.

* * *

The later evening hours arrived in one of the most somber and heartbreaking times the Loud house and by extension the family itself was ever going through.

A visit to the hospital to check on Albert had to rank among the biggest emotional challenges they've had to face. A description of how he ended up in this condition was all that they could mention is that while having a typical day at Sunset Canyon, he complained about feeling fatigued and short on breath before unexpectedly collapsing during the day. Though none of these were explicitly meant to be blamed for causing his problems, it was mentioned that he did have a particularly large and greasy breakfast, performed a lot of strenuous activities while in the swimming pool and engaged in an unexpectedly competitive game of shuffleboard all in between the complaints of fatigue and breathing issues. However, he stubbornly didn't want to get checked out and unfortunately here he was, bedridden and sustained through tubes.

It was those latter contraptions why Lisa initially almost refused to visit him, not out of spite, but the horror of having to see who she otherwise considered to be one of the most virile septuagenarians she's ever know being reduced to such a vulnerable state was something she couldn't bear. But after a lot of persuasion and mentioned how heartbreaking it would be if her Pop-Pop knew at all that even one of his grandchildren wasn't present, Lisa very hesitantly agreed to see him.

Now several hours removed from that moment and Lisa was finding it nigh on impossible to sleep. The fears she had from days earlier were surging well above and beyond anything she felt in that prior time. At least back then, the worry was that her Pop-Pop might not be around in a few years time, not that his time could come much sooner as that very real and scary possibility was now from health concerns outside anyone's control.

Though under the covers and her glasses off and put away on the nightstand, Lisa was sitting upright almost in a bit of trance. It was like she was fully expecting her Pop-Pop to arrive through the door ready to read another science book of hers before wishing her good night. Except that wasn't going to happen and as tears formed in her eyes for however many times it has been so far today, Lisa genuinely wondered if the previous night might've been the last time that will ever happen.

Her blank staring at the wall came to a halt when she heard the door to her room being gently knocked on.

"Lisa? Can I come in?"

Despite being aware and clearly hearing who it was, Lisa didn't answer back. The day made felt too out of sorts for prolonged interactions with others.

How she personally felt wouldn't matter at the moment, as the door opened up and Luan showed herself inside, closing the door behind her.

"Lisa?" She softly inquired as to not wake Lily up.

Even with her name being directly addressed, Lisa still hardly reacted at all. It wouldn't be until Luan came closer to her that she seemed to finally acknowledge the presence of her fourth oldest sibling.

"Luan? To what brings you here?" Lisa asked, trying to sound like all was good with her, brushing whatever tears were in her eyes.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing before the night's over." Luan replied.

The question was clearly a redundant one. Lisa was not okay and hasn't been all day long. From almost not seeing her Pop-Pop in the hospital to how she's been acting distant and insisting that no one should worry about her, nobody took this harder than she did. However, despite having done so hearing the initial news of hospitalization, she's additionally been holding back on expressing any further emotions about everything in whatever instances she was around her family.

"Lisa, everyone's been so worried about you. It's not healthy for someone to keep to yourself like you've been ever since we came back from checking up on Pop-Pop at the hospital." Luan said.

She came closer still, sitting down in the middle of her second youngest sister's bed.

"Look, aside from Lily right now, it's just you and me at this moment. If for whatever reason you're having a hard time expressing how you feel in front of everyone else, can you at least do it with me? I really want to do whatever I can to help you in that regard."

Lisa did have to conceded internally that Luan was correct in that expressing herself given the day's events was a challenge. Whether it be due to the times she's cynically dismissed human emotion in the past or her present belief that she didn't want to make her own anxieties the sole focus of her family's concerns thinking it might be a distraction, she had to admit the extreme difficulty of the situation here.

But she also had to admit that she desperately needed some kind of outlet to release those pent up emotions and the analytical side of her knew it was a foolhardy notion for her to not take up the generous offer which Luan was graciously taking the time in wishing to do just that for her.

It no longer became a choice for Lisa at this rate. She let her guard down and a fresh set of tears started freely flowing down her eyes. Not waiting any longer on her end, Luan proactively reached out and helped her decade younger little sister onto her lap and hugged her.

Now securely in Luan's arms, Lisa further let herself go by releasing several sobs, albeit quiet ones as to not disturb Lily from her slumber, all while she nestled her face right against her older sister's chest.

"I...I...I d-de-detest all wh-which is happening, Luan…" Lisa choked out, "I-I-I went o-on an f-f-foolish escapade t-to prolong Pop-Pop's life...and I-I understood t-th-the limits of which science c-can do such...b-b-but I feel so p-pow-powerless now in th-that I can't do anything t-t-to help him in this struggle h-he's in. I don't...I don't…I don't want him to...to...to die now!"

"Oh...believe me, Lisa, I don't want that to happen either. _Nobody_ in our family wants that to happen. There's nothing I'd hate more than to wake up the next morning and learn that Pop-Pop has passed on. I'd _hate_ to learn that." Luan said, just a hint of strain being carried in her voice.

She rubbed Lisa's back with one hand and ran the other along her hair. But as much as Luan wanted to be wholly optimistic, she also understood that not everything can be painted in a rosy portrait and even someone as young as Lisa needed to know that.

"Yet at the same time, and it hurts my heart _so_ much to say this as I know it'll hurt yours even more than it does now to hear this...but we also got be prepared for anything. There's several reasons why Pop-Pop had to move to Sunset Canyon in the first place. He simply couldn't live by himself anymore and honestly, we should be thankful he had his health emergency there. Imagine if that happened if he were still living alone and he couldn't get help in time, where he…."

Luan just had to stop herself there. Even that thought was way too tragic for her to complete. But she didn't need to finish it for Lisa to start sobbing harder at any rate.

However, the increase in her sobs were audible enough for Lily to hear them and as a result, she sat up and stood on her feet to observe from her crib. She could see the heartbreaking sight of her roommate crying into the arms of their older sister and it was enough that she started to whimper and have her own tears beginning to bubble up. It in turn caught Luan's attention.

"Wait, Lily, no, shh...shh…" She tried hushing her baby sister.

But nothing was doing. Lily hated seeing and hearing Lisa be so sad that she ultimately started crying herself.

Now torn between two crying younger sisters, Luan struggled with what to do. She knew that the dual sobbing of them will wake up or otherwise draw the attention of her siblings and though they'd likely be more than welcoming to lend a helping hand, Luan wished instead to handle this herself and leave everyone else to try their best in sleeping despite the events of the day.

At least for the moment, Luan felt Lily was the one who needed the more immediate attention. Reluctantly, she sighed and let go of Lisa.

"I'm so sorry, Lisa, but let me take care of Lily for a bit." She said.

She headed for her baby sister's crib, picked the crying infant into her arms and for the sake of her siblings, she carried Lily off out of the room and downstairs, all while shushing, gently bouncing and patting her back.

When Luan arrived at the ground floor, she discovered that she and Lily were far from the only ones in the vicinity. A glance over in the living room showed Lucy sitting in the couch with her knees brought up close to her chest.

"Lucy?" Luan inquired to her softly.

Like she broke herself out of a trance, Lucy shook her head slightly and appeared to brush her arm along her face that implied in Luan's mind that maybe tears were being brushed away. Before the latter could ask about such a thing, the former saw their baby sister crying as a convenient diversion.

"Huh, Luan? What are you doing down here? And what's wrong with Lily?" Lucy asked back.

"Well, I was just by the side of Lisa and she's been so broken up about Pop-Pop, and Lily apparently saw everything, so she started to cry and I brought her down as to not wake everyone else upstairs." Luan explained.

In the middle of her explanation, she opted to take a seat next to Lucy and also thankfully, Lily had stopped full-on sobbing and instead she only made little whimpering sounds. It was also then that Luan looked over to her spooky younger sister and had a suggestion for her.

"Actually, while I try to calm Lily down further, can you do me a favor and go be with Lisa for a little bit?"

"What? I mean, not that I would mind, but why me?" Lucy asked.

"Well, I'd hate to take the route in saying you're the only person right now who is available because that obviously can't be true, but you are here now and I really hate to leave Lisa alone for any length of time knowing how she's feeling now." Luan responded.

"But what should I say or do?"

"It doesn't matter, Lucy. I'm not asking you to do anything too over the top. All I'd recommend is being by her side. I'd say doing just that would be all she'd need right now."

Though she has done it from time to time, Lucy wasn't always the most confident in handling the big sister role to those who where younger than she was. Combined with the admitted fact she wasn't in the most stable of moods herself understandably due to the circumstances of today and she really wondered if this was a good time to act as a confidant to anyone. However, between the thought of Lisa being very sad, the insistence from Luan and perhaps looking to prove herself in such a case, she may as well go for it.

"Sigh...sure, I'll go to do that." Lucy said.

She slipped off the couch and went upstairs as a proud smiling Luan looked on.

Once reaching the top, Lucy rounded to her right and saw the barely open door leading to the room belonging to her two youngest sisters. She gently knocked on it before pushing it open, letting herself in and closing it. Right away she could see Lisa scrunched up, sniffling and weeping by her lonesome.

"Hey, Lisa…" Lucy lightly called out.

Not realizing somebody else had all of a sudden arrived, Lisa yelped a little and her reaction was only amplified upon noticing Lucy had now appeared right across before her on the bed

"Lucy?" Lisa uttered in shortness of breath and sniffling, "I'd say that I object to this unforeseen arrival typified of you, but the doleful drama of today has weakened my composition for such complaints."

"Sigh...sorry about that." Lucy said, "Anyway, the reason I'm here is because Luan suggested you might need someone to be with you until she calms Lily down. I don't know what or how I could be of assistance, but…"

Whatever Lucy had planned on rounding out saying came to an unexpected halt as Lisa almost uncharacteristically bolted over to Lucy and held on for dear life as she resumed crying.

Naturally, this was a reaction Lucy didn't expect as standard from her younger sister. But this was not a standard time for her or anyone in the family and in this instance, no one could blame her for being that way. Words of comfort were failing to materialize from Lucy as she was worried about, but what she knew that she can provide as Luan suggested doing only minutes earlier was acting as someone to be by Lisa's side.

With that in mind, she carefully encircled her own arms around her younger sister and simply held on close. Occasionally, Lucy did provide a simple pat of the back for Lisa and even tried a little rocking motion to soothe her further.

"S-so-somtimes, Lucy…." Lisa began speaking again tearfully, "I-I-I ponder if it's a-advisable t-to take inspiration from y-y-you and trying being m-mo-more stoic in nature. You s-s-seem to internalize yo-your emotions well en-enough and not let Pop-Pop's emergency a-a-affect you much…"

"Stoic? Internalized emotions? Not affecting me?" Lucy questioned, almost taking offense to such implications.

She gently pulled away from the embrace she held her younger sister in and looked straight at her.

"Lisa, let me show you something. Does _this_ look like someone who isn't affected by what's happening?"

Lisa couldn't really see what Lucy was showing her, so she reached over and put her glasses back on. With full 20/20 vision, now she could see the extraordinary act that her older sister was engaging in.

Here, Lucy moved her bangs aside just enough to barely show the undersides of her eyes. It had been professed that her bangs covered her eyes like they did under the belief that perhaps they were perpetually bloodshot or overly wide open so that they'd look like she was constantly staring at whomever her sights gazed upon. Instead, Lucy's eyes were like those of anyone else in her family with an iris hue of green being slightly shown. But most importantly for this context, those eyes glistened to indicate she had been shedding tears of her own fairly recently.

Having shown this for a few seconds, Lucy returned her bangs back to their original spot.

"I have been every bit as affected by Pop-Pop's health as everyone in our family has, Lisa. I may have not been showing it quite like everyone else has, and it looks like up until now you've been the same which goes to show we again have similarities when it comes to expressing oneself properly. But of course I feel hurt by what's happened. In fact, the reason Luan chose me to be with you was because she found me in the living room alone as I was crying a little. She doesn't know that last little bit, but it wouldn't surprise me if she did think it anyway."

After helping putting her younger sister's glasses back aside onto the nightstand, Lucy welcomed Lisa back into another embrace.

"So take it from someone like myself there's nothing wrong with letting in all out in a time like this and though I may not be able to always find the right things worth saying to make you feel better, I can at least fulfill my role in being by your side as your big sister. We can share such feelings of sorrow together."

If even her most stoic sibling believed there was no shame in the way to express herself during this trying time, then Lisa had no other reason to hold back presuming there were any. She again held on to older sister and quietly resumed weeping, and just like Lucy said, she joined in through a more silent release of some fresh tears of her own.

Only a couple of minutes into this later though, the door softly creaked open again to show Luan carefully coming back inside with Lily asleep in her arms. She placed the littlest Loud back into the crib.

"Okay, I think Lily's good now." Luan whispered.

As she turned around, she couldn't help but smile at the heartwarming scene of Lucy and Lisa hugging one another, even with the tragic context over what's making them be together like this in the first place. She went over towards them and rested a hand on Lucy's head.

"Hey, thanks for doing this, Lucy. Hang on for a moment more, okay? I got one more thing to take care of." Luan told her.

Lucy turned her own head just enough and nodded. Then, Luan again left the room and went to her immediate right up to the door to Lincoln's room, knocking on the door.

"Hey, Lincoln? If you're awake, can I come in for just a moment?"

"I guess so…"

The low tone of voice in his response made Luan understandably concerned, so she didn't waste a further second in turning the doorknob and letting herself in.

Once inside, she looked to see Lincoln laying in his bed under the covers, but he was clearly still awake, his hands behind the back of his head and was staring up at the ceiling with a depressed look on his face.

"Hey, Luan…" He said, sighing afterward.

"Hey, Lincoln…." Luan said back.

She moved on closer and sat down next to him.

"I probably already know the answer to this, but how are you doing?" She asked

"Not so good and you definitely know why…" Lincoln answered.

"I know, and I understand, too. We all feel the same way." Luan said, reaching over and patting his shoulder, "But I am actually here for another reason besides simply checking up on you. Mind if you do me a favor?"

"Like what?" Lincoln asked, tilting his head curiously.

"I was hoping maybe you could stay with Luna for the night." Luan replied.

"Huh? With just Luna? What about you?" Lincoln wondered.

"Well, I haven't quite told her this yet, but I'm gonna be staying with Lisa in her room. See, I spent a few minutes with her seeing how she's doing and she's just been absolutely broken up by everything that's happened with Pop-Pop." Luan began explaining, sighing and frowning, "My thinking is that this should not be a night that anyone should be spending alone and since I want to stay with Lisa to keep her company, that obviously means leaving Luna alone which I don't want, and I have a feeling you might possibly be feeling too sad yourself to really get much in the way of sleep based on what I can see. So that's why I think this arrangement is good idea. What do you say?"

Lincoln sighed again and pondered over Luan's proposition. In actuality, he was more sadder about today's events than he was letting on and only put something mildly resembling a slightly braver face when his sister made her presence known. Nonetheless, he did like the overall idea that was being presented to him and at least being within the presence of someone else during this night based on all that's happened would make him feel more at ease at the end of the day.

"Okay, I can go for that." Lincoln said, "On the way over, mind if I see how Lisa's doing myself?"

"Sure, I think she'll like that. Lucy's currently with her as well until I can take over, so you can see how she's doing, too." Luan replied with a grin.

Smiling ever so lightly on his end, Lincoln slipped out of his bed and followed Luan out of his room. First off as just said, he made a quick stop to the room to his left where he saw Lucy and Lisa sitting together on the latter's bed while the former had an arm around her sister.

"Hey, you guys…" Lincoln softly said as he came inside.

"Oh, hey Lincoln." Lucy said back.

Lisa did not respond to her only brother's greeting, perhaps due to being still overwhelmed in sadness over everything. She did eventually acknowledge him when he approached closer and knelt down before her.

"Greetings, elder brother…" Lisa said, taking a second to wipe her eyes, "My apologies for the condition I'm in…"

"No need to apologize, Lisa. It's okay." Lincoln assured her.

He patted her on the shoulder a couple of times, then turned his attention over to his other present younger sister.

"And what about you, Lucy?" He asked.

"I'm managing. Don't worry about me too much." Lucy replied.

"Hey, I'm your big brother. Of course I'm gonna worry about you guys." Lincoln said with a small laugh, "But anyway, just wanted to see how you two are holding up."

He put both his arms around them and hugged them, something Lucy and Lisa both returned on their end.

"All right, good night, you two." Lincoln said once the hug was over.

With his little check up done, he leaved them alone and rejoined with Luan out in the hall, resuming following her until they reached the doorway to her and Luna's room. She opened it up and stood aside to allow Lincoln inside, which caught the third eldest sibling's attention.

"Hey, Luan...oh, and hey there, bro. What brings you here?" Luna inquired.

"Well, I'm letting Lincoln stay the night with you if that's okay." Luan answered.

"Oh, sure he can. I have no problem with...wait, what do mean just with me? What's going on?" Luna asked puzzled.

"Well, she's gonna learn this momentarily, but I'm choosing to stay with Lisa because of how incredibly sad I've seen her be and I hate the idea of her being alone for the night. Yes, I know Lily's there, but I mean like having someone by her side in her bed. So with that in mind, that's why I asked Lincoln to stay in our room so that no one is left alone tonight after everything that's happened with Pop-Pop." Luan responded, "Assuming of course you're fine with such a setup."

"Hey, do whatever you need to, sis, and again, you're more than welcome to crash here yourself, dude." Luna said, giving her brother a welcoming smile, "It does get little lonesome here whenever Luan isn't around, so it'd be cool for you to join along."

"Well, thanks, Luna. I'll admit myself to feeling a little lonely more so than usual tonight due to today's circumstances, so maybe this will work out." Lincoln said, smiling back at Luna.

With everything seemingly all set in stone, Luan left Luna and Lincoln alone and closed the bedroom door. Next, she went back down the other end of the hallway and into Lisa and Lily's room once more.

"Okay Lucy, I can handle things from here. Thanks again for keeping Lisa company." She said.

"No problem." Lucy simply said in return before giving Lisa one last look, "All right, well...good night, Lisa. Also, you probably don't hear this from me enough, but it's worth reminding you anyway...I love you."

"And...I-I...I love you, too, Lucy." Lisa responded in kind through some sniffling.

The two shared another quick hug between them and finally Lucy started to take her leave. Before going back to her room though, she did feel herself get pulled into another hug, this time from Luan.

"So proud of you for what you've done here, Lucy. Good night and I love you as well." She said looking down while bearing a warm smile.

"You too, Luan." Lucy reciprocated.

She hugged Luan and then she went off back to her room. Meanwhile, Luan closed the door, a moved that perplexed Lisa.

"Uh, aren't you returning to your own sleeping quarters?" She asked.

"Well, no and perhaps I should've told you before I made all these arrangements, but I guess it's a little late for that." Luan replied, coming closer and sitting next to her little sister.

"Late for what?"

"I'm gonna be staying with you tonight, Lisa. I know, maybe you'll say this isn't necessary and perhaps I'm doing this more for my own sake than yours, but I just can't stand the idea of you sleeping alone tonight knowing how Pop-Pop is. Also, I have Lincoln staying with Luna, so that takes care of that if you're gonna ask."

While Lisa was more willing now to admit how much everything the day has brought on has taken its toll on her, she concede Luan's assertion over if having one of her siblings stay with her while in her bed might be a bit much. But that was her more scientific and analytical portion of her talking, while the frightened emotion side of her actually wanted something like this.

Giving her answer through actions, she clung onto Luan like no one else mattered to her right at this moment. Luan smiled just a little, glad that she could provided some big sister company for the younger intellectual.

And perhaps unbeknownst to them, those two plus Luna and Lincoln would not be the only ones who engaged in seeking cohabitation in another sibling's bed for the evening.

In the twins' room, Lana had troubles sleeping herself and had migrated over to Lola's bed, the latter of which who wasn't faring better either. There weren't many instances Lola would willingly allow her twin sister to stay in her bed, but with obvious circumstances, she not only allowed it, but wanted Lana's company for her own assurance as well.

"I don't want Pop-Pop to die!" Lana said tearfully.

"Neither do I!" Lola agreed, holding her twin closer.

The thought of that was so unthinkable, Lana began trembling so much to the point that Lola's own body was shaking as well. She tried what she could to calm her frightened twin sister by patting her back, but she also had a difficult time keeping her own composure as tears flowed down her eyes as well.

Moving diagonally to the room occupied by the two eldest siblings, Lori had found herself in Leni's bed as two held each other tenderly and firmly.

"If we learn that Pop-Pop doesn't pull through after what he's been suffering though, it would literally be one of the saddest days of my life!" Lori said through a very strained voice.

"Mine too! That would, like, break my heart!" Leni added, whimpering as well.

The two buried their faces into the other's shoulder and weeped in each others arms.

Going to the middle bedroom of the hall belonging to arguably the biggest polar opposite roommate arrangement of the siblings, Lynn and Lucy were sitting together on the former's bed as their backs were against the wall and Lynn had an arm around her younger sister.

"Sigh...I hope that I did okay with Lisa. I wasn't so sure about myself and I almost wanted to totally break down with her." Lucy said ambivalently.

"Well, I think you did a great job from the sounds of it, Luce." Lynn assured her, pulling her sister closer, "And I don't think Lisa would've minded at all had you done so. You admitted to her that you and her could share your sorrows together...just like how you can always do so with me."

While she wasn't intending that like an immediate offer, Lynn suddenly felt Lucy throw her arms around her and began to let another tear flow commence. But the most heartrending thing about this was the fact that in a rarity, Lucy was also letting out very small, but otherwise audible sobs from her mouth. She has been known to verbalize her feelings by literally saying words like "sigh", "groan", "vomit" and even "sniff", but if she were to actually be sobbing regardless of the intensity of them, then something really has affected her deeply to warrant such a reaction.

No matter the suddenness of it all, Lynn welcomed her sister into an embrace and allowed Lucy to pour it out on her shoulder as she too also let a couple of tears come down her face.

Over to the room now currently including the third eldest of the siblings and the only brother of the family, Luna and Lincoln likewise found themselves holding on close. Initially, Lincoln insisted on sleeping in Luan's bed despite Luna's welcoming demeanor in having him stay in her bed. This arrangement stuck around for only a few minutes before Lincoln kept on sighing and whimpering as he had difficulty getting to sleep. That was enough for Luna to change tact and instead come on down and join him in Luan's bed believing deep down he really needed someone by his side. Her theory ultimately proved to be correct when the moment she got under the covers, Lincoln immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and held on tight. On her end of things, Luna wrapped her right arm around him and cupped the side of his face with her left hand.

"I really do hope that Pop-Pop gets better…" Lincoln said dolefully.

"Well...I wish that I could add to that, but that's probably the best we can ask for at the moment, bro. We can only hope that putting our faith in those dedicated and hard working dudes and dudettes over at the hospital that all will go swell…" Luna told him, giving him an additional affectionate squeeze.

He hoped that his sister was right and that perhaps by tomorrow, their Pop-Pop will be upright and healthy again. Still, the opposite outcome was weighing down on him and his emotions were getting harder to hold together.

"I'm sorry, Luna...I'm trying so hard to stay strong and hopeful, especially for the sake of Lisa knowing how she's been, but I don't know if I can. I'm really scared if Pop-Pop...you know…"

And that was when the cracks in the dam became a jagged rupture. He rolled his face over into his older sister's chest and let everything go complete with slow, hitching sobs. She sighed and fully embraced him tighter against her.

"It's okay, Lincoln. You shouldn't need to be strong in a time like this. We're all hurting together as a family."

To encompass that latter sentiment as she consoled her little brother, Luna rested her face on top of Lincoln's head as she released some teardrops that would land in his hair.

Finally, back in the room where it all started tonight, Luan situated herself on the left side of Lisa's bed that was against the wall before letting her little sister join in.

"Heh...I forget that your bed is pretty small. But I think we'll manage." Luan mentioned with a little laugh.

Lisa didn't add anything herself, only to snuggle up against her older sister and held on to her. When she was situated enough herself, Luan also returned the favor.

"My thanks and appreciation to you, Luan. This may actually be a most needed arrangement." Lisa said gratefully.

"I think so, too. Now, I know it'll still be hard to get any sleep because we're all worried about Pop-Pop, but for now, just know you're not alone and that we're all gonna pull through this together, okay?" Luan said, leaning over and kissing her sister's forehead, "Good night, Lisa. I love you."

"I love and admire your devotion, too, my fourth eldest sibling." Lisa responded in her own way.

Luan smiled and held Lisa closer as both of them tried their hardest in getting whatever sleep they could given the situation. Of course, that goes for basically the entire family included. The fear that an overnight call from the hospital that might deliver either the best news possible or the most tragic revelation they could hear in this moment in time made for dreary open eyes and dozens upon dozens of shed tears. Unfortunately, like Luan told Lisa earlier, everyone had to be ready should worst come to worst, but they had to hold on to whatever hope was there that fortunes would be in their favor and all could be good by sunrise tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning began with a sense of unease. Inside Lisa and Lily's room, Luan was awake but still laid down in Lisa's bed alongside that very little sister who was currently asleep. It took a while for her to finally get some rest the other night what with all the steadfast dread and several more tears that were fallen, but eventually the warmth and comfort which Luan was all too kind enough to provide helped on that front.

But that would suddenly change when Luan was startled by a loud gasp straight into her ear courtesy of Lisa. She rose up from the bed and saw her younger sister in a cold sweat and breathing heavily.

"Lisa? Hey, Lisa, what's wrong?" Luan asked her worriedly.

But Lisa was in too much of a panic to responded. She then transitioned into a series of shivering, whimpering and a small amount of weeping. Without giving it another thought, Luan brought Lisa into her arms once more and presumed to know the reason for this reaction.

"You had a bad dream about Pop-Pop, didn't you?" She wondered.

"A-A-Affirmative…" Lisa muttered, "It...it…"

"Shh...say no more, Lisa." Luan assured her, holding on tighter, "It was only a dream. It's okay. If you're curious, I did actually hear some good news regarding Pop-Pop this morning. He's been doing a bit better since last night, where admittedly things weren't looking so good at first. I learned that after I had already gotten up a little earlier, but I returned here and wanted to stay by your side until you woke up in order to tell you that."

While taking another moment to have this smaller emotional release, Lisa felt a conflicting mix inside of her. Of course she was relieved to hear their Pop-Pop was doing better, yet at the same time even just thinking there was time in the prior night things might've been not so good for him still chilled her to the bone, especially if that less than bright outlook of his health happened at all perhaps during the time when Luan initiated her whole sequence of checking up on her little sister that ultimately lead to staying the night with her. But still, the most important thing was that in this moment in time that his condition was at the very least sounding more stable for now.

"Luan?" Lisa said softly.

"What is it?" Luan asked.

"I, uh...appreciate the relieving newsworthiness of Pop-Pop's condition...but if you don't mind, I need to use the lavatory right now." Lisa replied with a little sniffling, snorting laugh.

"Oh...sure, of course." Luan said, also laughing somewhat herself, "Actually, I have to go myself, so we can head over and take care of business together. I mean, not like _that_ , but you get what I mean."

She let go of Lisa as they both shared another laugh together. They headed out of the room and unsurprisingly, there was a line for the bathroom, albeit a small one only consisting of Leni, Lincoln and Lucy in this case.

"Good morning, Luan. Good morning, Lisa." Lincoln greeted them.

"Good morning, you guys." Luan greeted in return.

On the other hand, despite sharing a little bit of laughter with Luan only seconds earlier, Lisa already still felt sadness gripping her inside, as apparent by the expression on her face becoming more glum again.

"Aw, are you okay, Lisa?" Leni asked worriedly.

It was sort of a "no duh" type of question, but no one would dare say that out loud. Nobody, present company or anyone else, could say they were doing okay all things considered.

Lisa tried raising a finger and opening her mouth to speak, but words were failing her. She lowered her head and sighed shakily.

"Guys...she had a bad dream about Pop-Pop and…" Luan was saying.

Whether or not Lisa was comfortable with Luan sharing that on her behalf became moot when she fell down roughly on her knees, her glasses casually falling right off her face and began to cry once more.

Immediately, Leni, Luan and Lincoln were primed in coming over to their little sister's aid. However, it was actually Lucy who beat everyone to the punch by kneeling in front of Lisa and hugging her, also allowing her to cry into the shoulder of her goth sister.

"Hey, it's all right, Lisa. We're all going through this dark and bleak time in our lives together and we're here for you." Lucy reassured her.

At first, none of their present older siblings did anything else on their ends. Instead, they wanted this scene to play itself out only between those two primarily as to allow Lucy to have her own time in a big sister role. Such a role was one she strives to continue in getting better in and a display here acted as a confidence booster in that regard.

Ultimately though, no single member of the Loud family can often resist the urge to form a group hug once two or more were already taking part. One by one, Lincoln then Luan and finally Leni coalesced with their younger sisters in a show of solidarity, particularly with Lisa, using their actions to communicate the earlier message which Lucy said only moments ago about how everyone is going through this difficult time together.

* * *

The days melted into one another as the Loud family continued to deal with updates here and there on Albert's condition. Some noted improvements, others a sudden downgrade and then there were those where it was a relief that he was merely stable.

For Lisa, she had gotten better both in terms of not totally breaking down with each update that might not provide the best of news, but also did better in that she didn't try to hide or cover up her emotions from her family either. If she was feeling that way, she immediately went up to anyone she could find and confided in them. Similarly, she also welcomed and insisted on the sleeping arrangements with Luan that had been set up earlier in the week be maintained.

Speaking of confiding, one day as she was in her room trying to keep herself busy, Lisa heard a knock on the door.

"Lisa? You have a guest."

The voice belonged to her mother, but when the door opened, a much older woman who had become very close to Albert made her way inside.

"Hi there, Lisa, sweetie…"

"Oh, uh...greetings, Gran-Gran."

The woman was Myrtle, otherwise known by the nickname "Gran-Gran". To think just a few short weeks earlier Lisa and the rest of her siblings would've initially recoiled at the thought of calling this woman by that name. Just only within the second day of getting to know her, she smothered the Loud kids with an annoying degree of love and attention to the point they wanted to break her and Albert up. However, upon learning she never had that much of a family and saw them like that, it caused a turnaround within them all and by the end of what also turned out to be her birthday, they warmly accepted her like a grandmother figure and thus the "Gran-Gran" nickname stuck.

"May I?" Myrtle inquired, signaling toward Lisa's bed.

"Oh, but of course." Lisa acquiesced.

Both sat down on the latter's bed and right away, Myrtle put an arm around Lisa.

"So, how have you been doing?" She asked.

"Better than prior days, but still holding feelings of lamentation." Lisa responded.

"Aw...so am I, Lisa, so am I." Myrtle concurred.

She held her second youngest honorary granddaughter a little closer and for the next minute or so, nothing was said between them.

"You know, your Pop-Pop really is one of the best people I've ever gotten to know…" Myrtle spoke up again, "It delighted my heart to meet someone who was as full of life as I was and he really filled that void which had been missing in me for such a long time. Not to mention meeting him also meant I got to gain what amounted to a new family for me, especially with you and your siblings."

She smiled over at Lisa, who also did the same. However, a frown and sigh would also soon follow.

"I just hope I'm able to still get to experience more joyful memories with him soon…"

"I concur with that, Gran-Gran…" Lisa agreed.

Even with the heavy subject matter and ambiguous nature of her Pop-Pop's future, she nonetheless smiled again and this time put her arms around Myrtle, who did the same as well.

In a time like this, that slogan which Myrtle had put on those sweaters she once made for Lisa and her siblings seemed to matter more than ever.

Life really was sweeter with a Gran-Gran.

* * *

Just over two hours after Myrtle's visit, Lisa again found herself milling about and occupying her mind with various what-have-yous in the realms of science. Anything at all to keep a positive track and mindset with all that weighed on her mind.

Then for the second time today, another knock on her bedroom door came about.

"Hey, Lisa? You got another special someone who wishes to see you."

Now it was her father's turn to make a similar announcement of an impending guest like earlier. This time when the door opened up, a much smaller and more precious sort now was making her presence known.

"Hi, Lisa!"

"Oh...well, salutations, Darcy."

Indeed, now Lisa was getting herself a visit from Darcy Helmandollar, the one individual she could reasonably call a friend. Originally in an earlier time, Lisa wasn't so keen on building and maintaining bridges with Darcy, as she only attempted in making friends with the fellow kindergartner just so she could please her teacher Ms. Shrinivas and getting that coveted passing grade in social skills in her report card. Friendship wasn't something Lisa really gave much of a thought beyond that grade, but throughout the experience, she realized that it mattered more than some simple educational evaluation. Friends were something that made lives better as she concluded in her research epiphany and since then Darcy has become an integral part of her still budding social life.

"Well, shall we have a seat?" Lisa inquired.

"Okay!" Darcy happily agreed, sitting right in the middle of the floor.

Lisa had been inferring potentially sitting on her bed very much like with Myrtle earlier, but she wasn't going to complain about her friend's choice, so she joined next her.

"I hope you're doing okay, Lisa." Darcy said.

"I'll answer in the affirmative. Some days have been considerably more fractious than others, but my constitution is holding firmer thanks in due part to my familial units." Lisa stated.

Clearly, some of the more technical terminology put a spot of confusion in Darcy. Realizing this, Lisa knew she had to add a more simplified follow up.

"In other words, yes, I'm doing okay."

"Oh, well, that's good." Darcy said, frowning a little next, "Still, I'm sorry to hear about your grandpa. Hope he gets better soon."

"That is indeed my hope, Darcy…"

As she said that, Lisa again felt another pang of unhappiness coming to her. No matter the general improvement in her emotional status like she just told Darcy, obviously small spates of sadness still came and went.

"Wanna give Rafo a hug?"

Lisa looked to see Darcy extending out the stuffed giraffe toy she often had by her side. Though she never saw the use of stuffed animals herself, at this moment in time, Lisa couldn't possibly turn down this offer if for any other reason because of the adorable hopeful look Darcy had on her face as well.

Acquiescing to her friend's offer, Lisa took Rafo into her arms and squeezed him lovingly for a few seconds, then handed him back over.

"I also brought these." Darcy mentioned.

Next, she showed a brown paper bag with her, opened it up and handed Lisa a couple of cookies. It was very reminiscent to Lisa of the moment which where she felt like she officially became friends with Darcy and had her epiphany about friendship. She smiled as she graciously accepted.

"Much appreciated, Darcy, and that goes for this visit of yours, too." Lisa said.

"You're welcome, Lisa. It's what friends do for each other." Darcy said.

And given the circumstances, a friend really was something that lifted Lisa's spirits here.

* * *

One week. That is how much time had passed since the day that turned the Loud family upside down. One week of having to simply sit and wait, hoping for the best.

During the afternoon, the Loud siblings found themselves together in the living room while their parents were away for a while. Neither of them told the kids exactly where they were going and it wasn't something those same eleven really gave it a passing thought at the same time.

However, when their parents did come back home, it was paired together with nothing short of an amazing surprise. First, their father came inside the house by himself.

"Hey kids, we're back!" Lynn Sr. declared while smiling, "Now if don't mind, I'd like for you to hold in your excitement as your mother and I like to say that we're so proud to have a very special guest over with us."

As he stepped aside, the kids' faces lit up with reserved smiles and misty eyes when they also saw their mother coming on, and right by her side walking along gingerly was the man who sent everyone around him into a frenzy over his health.

"Hey there, kiddos!" Albert said grinning.

Though wishing they could rush over and ensnare him into a big group hug, the kids understood the request by their father as not to overwhelm their still likely recovering Pop-Pop. He walked further inside and sat himself slowly on the chair in the living room.

"Now you likely understand why we didn't say where your father and I went to. We got a call from the hospital earlier that Pop-Pop here was ready to be released and obviously we wanted him to come over and see you kids before he heads back to Sunset Canyon. In any event, I'm sure you're all as relieved as we are that he's here now and doing better." Rita explained, getting a little emotional throughout.

The kids couldn't agree with that sentiment any more just again through their facial expressions. However, one couldn't help herself in being so overcome with pure joy that she leaped from the couch with tears fogging up her glasses and ran right up to her Pop-Pop's lap to give him a much deserved Lisa hug.

"Heh...guess I may given you the biggest scare out of everyone?" Albert asked.

All Lisa did in response was look up at him and nodded while hugging him tighter. Likewise on his end, Albert returned the favor.

"You know, Lisa, I have to say after all that I've been through, I think I'm gonna take to heart some of those lifestyle adjustments you tried making me adhere to a little while ago. Maybe not quite to the strict extent you wanted me to at the time, but some improvement here and there would be a good idea in the long run. Eventually little by little, I'll hopefully be able to go back to doing my normal routines, just maybe a tad bit on the slower side all the same." He said.

"Do what you think is best for your longevity, Pop-Pop...just please be in my still budding life cycle for however much longer you have and only when it comes to an end on a natural basis." Lisa said through a pair of sniffles.

"I'll do what I can, that much I can promise." Albert affirmed.

Next, he pulled Lisa away from him enough so that he can look at her.

"And listen, since you brought the subject up, there's something else I like to tell you with everyone else present. I don't know why I didn't say this before during our first real serious talk about how much longer I have left and regarding how many more of your accomplishments I'll be able to bear witness to, but here it is. Even when my time eventually does come, I want you to remember that you still have two devoted parents, nine adoring sisters and one incredible loving brother who will be here for a very long time to come and see what you're still capable of. Honestly, I think you're only still getting started in what you can do in life and it's worth remembering that throughout your life, you should always hold all those who are close to you."

Upon the end of hearing that, Lisa took a glance all around to everyone else in her family and smiled, then she again hugged Albert to which he did the same briefly.

"Now, I hate to cut this visit short, but I best get going. Your Gran-Gran has this big welcome back party planned out for me at Sunset Canyon and she's waiting on pins and needles for me to be there. But don't worry, I'll certainly be seeing you kids again soon enough. Now how about you all bring it on in?"

Encouraging Lisa in moving just enough to the side of his lap, Albert opened up his arms and that signaled the rest of his grandchildren to come on over to join in that big group hug which they hoped and wished they could do and are glad that it came into fruition.

When the hug concluded, Albert said his goodbyes as he departed and both Lynn Sr. and Rita followed along to drop him off at Sunset Canyon. Meanwhile, as the siblings gathered together around the couch again, Lisa initiated another hug, this time for both Luan and Lucy, the two siblings of hers who she'll credit for doing the most in helping her get through her initial emotional hardship early on. Of course, she'd be remiss if she were to ignore the rest of her siblings in whatever help they also put forward and in addition to Luan and Lucy, the rest came together as well to complete another group hug.

Later on that same evening just before going to bed, Lisa would set up a quick video chat with Darcy to tell her the wonderful news. Needless to say the child genius' friend was ecstatic even beyond her normally adorably cheery personality to learn of this and wished Lisa well by the end.

Finally, for one last night, the sleeping arrangements set up the prior week would go through again. As everyone went into their slumber, the sage words from Albert about holding on to those close around you sunk in only further not just for Lisa as she settled into the arms of Luan, but also for Lana and Lola, Lori and Leni, Lynn and Lucy, and Luna and Lincoln as well.

It was a universal truth that was taken to heart by all and would always be remembered.

**Author's Note:**

> There we go. One of the more emotional writing experiences that I've written so far, that I have no problem saying.
> 
> So another one of the reasons besides believing it may have been too soon to publish something like this after Fred Willard's passing was that the original plan for this story was for Albert to pass on as well. However, I chose not to go through with that and end on a much more hopeful note instead. Think I personally made the right call here. It's just a signature of me to have every story I write end on a positive note.
> 
> Also, the reasons I chose Luan to take a leading role here in consoling Lisa are among others that they're a decade apart and I like dynamics like that, plus the fact that I love the thought of one of the happiest and joyful of the siblings comforting the one who struggles with her own emotions. Speaking of emotional struggles, that obviously to me lead naturally to have some moments between her and Lucy as well. Always such a natural subject that bonds those two together.
> 
> And with that, we come to the end once more. Thank you so much as always and somewhere down the line, we'll do this again. See you then and take care.


End file.
